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[–]Canbot 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (11 children)

He just justified his own assassination. Anyone in the military or police not trying to shoot him is literally a traitor to thier own people.

[–]BravoVictor 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (10 children)

Disagree. The protests are happening because:

  1. to keep people happy with cheap fuel, the government over-regulated it's domestic oil and gas production with fixed pricing, running it into near bankruptcy
  2. and then, realizing the mistake, tried switching over to free market economics to allow domestic producers to actually grow

Now the people are revolting because they're not getting unsustainably cheap fuel. Killing their leaders won't change that. It'll only make things worse. A new government is either going to re-institute fixed pricing, which will just collapse the local oil industry, or it'll again switch to free market pricing, which will anger people who don't want to pay more, resulting in fresh protests. It's lose-lose either way.

Plus, there's some evidence the west is fanning the flames to topple a Russia-friendly government and create a second front for a new war against Russia.

New governments also tend to be far more brutal than the last, since they need to be more brutal to oust the current leadership. The new western-friendly government in Ukraine has spent the last decade murdering it's own citizens in the eastern Ukraine who didn't want to go along with the coup and new un-elected leadership.

[–]Canbot 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (9 children)

If they had to provide cheap fuel to stave off revolution that does not mean that the end of that program is the cause of the revolution. Hundreds of people are dying and I guarantee it is not over cheap fuel.

[–]FlippyKing 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Plus, there's some evidence the west is fanning the flames to topple a Russia-friendly government and create a second front for a new war against Russia.

I don't think this possibility should be just skipped over without consideration. Mass protests are either ignored by major media outlets (like Reuters) or given attention based not on the merits of the protests but the "western" (ie CIA) support and if the function the potential destabilization serves the CIA's goals.

[–]BravoVictor 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

Hundreds of people are dying and I guarantee it is not over cheap fuel.

Well sure, if you want to be pedantic, they're being killed by the government, because those violent protesters were trying to kill people themselves, due to their anger over fuel prices.

This isn't a new phenomena. The exact same thing happened in the middle east a few years ago, and even in some European countries, albeit a little less violently. The yellow-vest movement in France, which escalated into small-scale violence, was caused by rising taxes on fuel consumption.

[–]Canbot 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

Prices go up regularly everywhere without revolution. It is not the price that drives these things. Even the ones that are triggered by a price hike are not caused by a price hike. That is why you can't just lower the prices to quell the revolution. It is about a lot more than fuel prices.

[–]BravoVictor 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

Prices go up regularly everywhere without revolution. It is not the price that drives these things.

We're not talking about some insignificant 1% cent price hike or increase inline with inflation. Kazakhstan experienced a 100% price hike. Everyone uses fuel for something. Heating, transportation, running their business. And fuel is often 10-25% of all expenses. For them, those costs just doubled. That means they have to nearly double the costs of their goods or services to not go bankrupt, but presumably some of their customers probably won't be able to afford that.

There are other psychological factors in play, sure, but in most cases the principle factor are prices and standard of living. Everything boils down to money. If fuel suddenly became super cheap again and everyone could afford to improve their lives, they wouldn't risk their lives fighting a modern industrialized military force, or killing their neighbor and looting their houses and stores.

What other factor do you think is more to blame?

[–]jet199 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I mean most people believe that the USA has started multiple wars to keep oil prices low, they aren't doing that because they think US citizens would just suck up the price rises and not blame the government. It shouldn't be a surprise when countries who aren't so cautious around public opinion have problems when prices go up.

[–]Canbot 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

This is not the first time price hikes are blamed for the revolution and when the despots go back on the price hikes it changes nothing. People do not go home as your theory predicts, proving you wrong.

Obviously people feel thier Government is too corrupt. The president is a puppet of Russia. But regardless of who's puppet he is he fucked them over just a little too much.

[–]BravoVictor 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

People do not go home as your theory predicts, proving you wrong.

They go home all the time. The Occupy Wallstreet protesters during the 2008 housing bubble eventually went home. The protesters during 2020 Covid lockdown riots went home. The French yellow vest protesters went home. There were several other protest movements all through Europe over the last decade.

All of those protests were driving by economic hardship. None of those protesters got anything they wanted. All of them went home. The power structures that caused their hardship are still in place.

Obviously people feel thier Government is too corrupt. The president is a puppet of Russia.

Obviously? Do you live there? Do you know even one person there? No, you get your info through our own horribly corrupt media pushing talking points issued by our own corrupt government.

And when the propaganda works enough the public into a big enough fury, our government will ship over some of us to fight and die there in order to expand its power. Funny how that works.

[–]Canbot 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

The Occupy Wallstreet protesters

They were never placated with a reversal of some policy that was claimed as the start of the protest.

My argument is that no revolution was ever quelled by the reversal of whatever policy or price hike was the straw that broke the cammels back.

Your claim that the Wallstreet protest is a counter example to that is so retarded that it proves your arguments are disingenuous. You obviously have no intereste in an honest debate.

[–]BravoVictor 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Your claim that the Wallstreet protest is a counter example to that is so retarded that it proves your arguments are disingenuous. You obviously have no intereste in an honest debate.

I cited my examples directly refuting your premise, and in response all you can do is just name-call? If you're that thin-skinned, please go back to Reddit.

Yes, we're done here, because you're not interested in an honest debate. I won't respond to you any further.